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Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies in the family Papilionidae, and include over 550 species.Though the majority are tropical, members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica. The family includes the largest butterflies in the world, the birdwing butterflies of the genus ''Ornithoptera''. Swallowtails have a number of distinctive features; for example, the papilionid caterpillar bears a repugnatorial organ called the osmeterium on its prothorax. The osmeterium normally remains hidden, but when threatened, the larva turns it outward through a transverse dorsal groove by inflating it with fluid. The forked appearance of the swallowtails' hind wings, which can be seen when the butterfly is resting with its wings spread, gave rise to the common name ''swallowtail''. As for its formal name, Linnaeus chose ''Papilio'' for the type genus, as ''Papilio'' is Latin for 'butterfly'. For the specific epithets of the genus, Linnaeus applied the names of Greek heroes to the swallowtails. The type species: ''Papilio machaon'' honoured ''Machaon'', one of the sons of ''Asclepius'', mentioned in the ''Iliad''.〔Salmon, Michael A., Marren, Peter, Harley, Basil. The Aurelian Legacy: British Butterflies and Their Collectors. page 252. Publisher: University of California Press. 2001. ISBN 978-0-520-22963-1〕 == Distribution == As of 2005, 552 extant species have been identified which are distributed across the tropical and temperate regions. Various species inhabit altitudes ranging from sea level to high mountains, as in the case of most species of ''Parnassius''. The majority of swallowtail species and the greatest diversity are found in the tropics and subtropical regions between 20°N and 20°S, particularly Southeast Asia, and between 20°N and 40°N in East Asia. Only 12 species are found in Europe and only one species, ''Papilio machaon'' is found in the British Isles. North America has 40 species, including several tropical species and ''Parnassius''. The northernmost swallowtail is the Arctic apollo (''Parnassius arcticus''), found in the Arctic Circle in northeastern Yakutia, at altitudes of 1500 meters above sea level. In the Himalayas, various apollo species such as ''Parnassius epaphus'', have been found at altitudes of 6,000 meters above sea level. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Swallowtail butterfly」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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